Insertion tool for a medical closure device

ABSTRACT

Insertion tool for a medical closure device for the sealing of an opening in a wall of a bodily organ, comprising a tamping force source adapted to deliver a first member to a position at the opening on one side of the wall subsequently to a second member being positioned at the opening on the opposite side of the wall. The tamping force source, which is energized prior to the tamping procedure, can be a spring, an elastic band or a pressurized gas container. A tamping spring can be compressed or extended upon loading. The tamping force source can be released in response to a manual operation or be triggered by retraction of the insertion tool.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/154,900, filed Jan. 14, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/987,563, filed Nov. 30, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No.8,652,166, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an insertion tool to be usedtogether with a medical device in the closure of an opening in a bodilyorgan, and more particularly to an insertion tool to be used togetherwith a closure device in the sealing of a percutaneous puncture in avessel, the insertion tool being provided with an improved tampingmechanism comprising an energized tamping force source.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During certain types of medical surgery or treatment, an introducer isused to access the vascular system of a patient. The introducer isinserted through the wall of a blood vessel in order to obtain access tothe vascular system and may thereafter be used for guiding medicalinstruments such as catheters, guide wires and the like.

After completion of the medical procedure, there will be an incision ora wound in the wall of the blood vessel corresponding to the size of theintroducer. The bleeding from the wound, which is a result of such asurgical operation, can be stopped by applying direct pressure on thewound. However, applying direct pressure on the wound will requireassistance of medical personnel and may also restrict the flow of bloodthrough the vessel.

In the U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,828, which is assigned to the presentassignee, a sealing device is disclosed for sealing a puncture hole in avessel wall. The sealing device comprises an inner sealing member, anouter member, and a retaining member. The inner sealing member isadapted to be positioned adjacent to the puncture hole on the inside ofa vessel, while the outer member is adapted to be positioned adjacent tothe opening on the outside of the vessel. To achieve this, the innermember is deployed inside the vessel, thereafter the assembly isretracted so that the inner member is adjacent to the puncture, andsubsequently, the outer member is deployed outside the vessel andthereafter tamped down against the vessel puncture. Thus, the inner andouter members sandwich the vessel wall, and are held together by theretaining member to thereby seal the puncture hole in the vessel wall.The retaining member and the outer member are here held in place byfriction acting between the retaining member and the outer member.

An improved tamping mechanism is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,655and European Patent No. EP 1 266 626, which are assigned to the presentassignee. Here, the two functional operations of retracting a pusherused to deploy the inner seal in a vessel and subsequently advancing theouter seal with a tamping tube are combined into a single manualoperation. In addition, a third step of releasing a thread, which isused to hold the inner and outer seals together, from a holder, can beincluded in the single manual step.

Other examples of similar devices include those described in U.S. Pat.No. 7,250,057 and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2006/0229674 and2007/0032823, in which a tissue puncture closure device comprisesdifferent types of tamping systems, all of which use the motive forceapplied when retracting the device and subsequently convert this into atamping force to tamp a sealing plug against the outer side of a vesselpuncture. In this procedure the force of tamping originates at thevessel puncture site, thereby exerting strain on the vessel wall.Depending on the amount of force applied, this could potentially rupturethe vessel further, leading to an opposite effect of that which isdesired, specifically, additional bleeding and further health risks forthe patient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is a need to further ensure optimal closure of the puncture eachtime a closure device is used and, additionally, to simplify theprocedure in terms of the number and complexity of the steps required ofthe user in deploying the closure device.

The present invention comprises an insertion tool for a medical devicefor the closure of an opening in a bodily organ, such as a puncture holein a vessel wall or a septal defect. In the closure procedure, a firstand a second closure member are brought together to positions adjacentto the opening and on opposite sides of the wall. A tamping mechanismtamps the two members against opposing sides of the opening, effectivelysealing the opening. The tamping is performed using a predefined amountof tamping force, generated by a tamping force source such as a loadedspring, an elastic band or a pressurized gas container. When the tampingforce source is a spring, the spring can either be compressed orextended upon loading, and retained in such a configuration untilreleased. The tamping force can be released in response to a manualoperation or be automatic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The insertion tool of the present invention is adapted to be used with amedical device for closure of an opening in a bodily organ, such as ablood vessel puncture or a septal defect, where the closure devicecomprises a first and a second member adapted to be retained inpositions adjacent to the opening and on opposite sides of the wall(further described below). In order to overcome the risk of applying toomuch strain on e.g. the vessel wall when tamping a closure device at apuncture site, the present invention provides a mechanism wherein theamount of force used for tamping of a closure device is not dependent ona considerable force being applied to the vessel wall. Additionally, thetamping force is of a predetermined magnitude, and is prompted either bythe user, or by an automatic trigger.

For clarity, the present invention will be described in conjunction witha closure device for sealing of a blood vessel puncture, comprising aninner sealing disc, an outer member and a retaining filament. However,the tamping mechanism of the present invention can be applied to avariety of closure methods that involve bringing together a first andsecond closure member to positions on opposite sides of a wall of thebodily organ and adjacent to an opening in the wall, and thereafterclamping, tamping or simply moving the two members together to hold thedevice in place. Therefore, it should be noted that it is within thescope of the invention to apply the present invention on other types ofclosure devices for blood vessel punctures than that described below, orfor the closure of other openings, such as a septal defect in the heart.

The insertion tool of the present invention comprises a tampingmechanism with a tamping force source adapted to be energized prior toinitiation of the tamping procedure. The term tamping force sourcecomprises any energy source capable of generating a motive force whenreleased. One example is a compressed or extended spring, which will bedescribed in detail below. Another example is one or more elastic bands,or any other elastic material capable of being compressed and/orextended or expanded, and which will produce motive energy upon release.The term energize indicates, in these cases, either compression orexpansion of the spring or elastic material. A third example is using apressurized container of gas, such as air, carbon dioxide or nitrogen.Here the term energizing implies filling the container with gas to apressure higher than that of the surrounding space. Those skilled in theart will realize that other means of mechanically accumulating andreleasing a predetermined amount of energy are also possible, in orderso create a tamping force source with appropriate properties.

One type of closure device that can be used in conjunction with thetamping mechanism of the present invention is a closure device mainlydesigned for the sealing of a blood vessel puncture and which comprisesan inner disc-shaped member, a flat outer member, and a retaining membersuch as a suture or filament attached to the inner member. The suture issupplied with an enlarged portion adjacent to the inner member and isthreaded through the outer member, in order to hold the two memberstogether by frictional forces acting between the suture and the outermember when sandwiching the vessel wall. Alternatively, the two memberscan be held together by other means, such as a snap-lock acting betweenthe inner and outer members or a knot on the suture. It is also withinthe scope of the present invention to be applied to insertion of closuredevices that comprise umbrella- or disc-shaped plug members that attachto each other via a stem protruding from one of the members, or thosedevices which comprise an inner anchor member, an outer member in theform of a haemostatic collagen plug or sponge and a filament attached tothe inner anchor.

One embodiment of an insertion tool 1 for a closure device isillustrated in FIG. 1. The closure device is here shown as an innersealing disc 2 and an outer member 3, connected via a filament 4, allinitially disposed within a distal housing 5 of the insertion tool 1.The insertion tool 1 is here illustrated to be used with a pre-placedintroducer 6, but can also comprise a dedicated introducer. In such acase the user replaces the introducer used in the preceding procedure,positioned to access the interior of a blood vessel 15, with thededicated introducer prior to the initiation of the closure procedure.The filament 4 is threaded through a tamping tube 7 past or through atamping spring 8 and attached via a loop to a hook 9. The hook 9 isfunctionally coupled to a release button 10, which is initially biasedby a release spring 11, which in turn maintains the hook 9 in a positionto hold on to the filament 4. The tamping tube 7 is slidably mountedwithin the insertion tool 1 for movement from a retracted position to anadvanced position. The tamping spring 8 is mounted between the proximalenlarged end 19 of the tamping tube 7 and an inner proximal ledge 16 ofa proximal housing 12. Initially the tamping spring 8 is compressed,i.e. energized. A tamping button 13 holds the tamping spring 8 in placedue to the bias of a tamping button spring 14. The tamping spring 8 willbe discussed more in detail below.

In a first step, illustrated in FIG. 2, the insertion tool is attachedto the pre-placed introducer 6 and the closure device is advanced by thetamping tube 7 through the introducer 6 into a vessel 15 by advancingthe proximal housing 12 towards the distal housing 5 of the insertiontool 1 (compare FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the tamping tube7 acts as a pusher, however, it is also conceivable to provide aseparate pusher. During the introduction, the inner member 2 can be in afolded configuration or a longitudinal position within the insertiontool 1. If the inner member 2 is initially folded, it is manipulated insuch a way that it will unfold during insertion into the vessel whenoutside the introducer 6. In FIG. 2 both the inner and outer closuremembers 2, 3, connected by the filament 4, are initially deployed insidethe vessel 15. Thereafter the insertion tool 1 and the pre-placedintroducer 6 are retracted until the inner sealing disc 2 contacts theinner vessel wall, which is felt by the user as a resistance on thefilament 4. This step is illustrated in FIG. 3. In this type of closuredevice, the outer member 3 is constructed so as to pass freely throughthe opening when retracting the insertion tool 1. Even though bothclosure members 2, 3 are illustrated as initially being deployed insidethe vessel, it should be noted that it is also within the scope of thepresent invention to provide an insertion tool where an inner member isdeployed inside the vessel and subsequently, after retraction of theassembly, an outer member is placed outside the vessel. The differentpossible types of closure assemblies have been discussed above.

After deployment of the two closure members and retraction of theassembly to place the inner member against the puncture in the vesselwall, the closure device is ready for tamping. The user presses thetamping button 13 and thereby releases the tamping spring 8 from itscompressed, i.e. energized, state (illustrated in FIG. 3), which thenadvances the tamping tube 7 to clamp the outer member 3 against theouter wall of the vessel (illustrated in FIG. 4). As mentioned earlier,the two closure members are constructed so that after tamping, the twomembers 2, 3 can be held together by any fastening mechanism.

In a subsequent step, the user presses release button 10, releasing thefilament loop 4 from the hook 9 (see FIG. 5). The insertion tool canthen be removed from the puncture site, leaving the closure members 2, 3sandwiching the vessel puncture and the filament 4 protruding from theskin puncture. The closure members are preferably made of a resorbablematerial, so that they will be absorbed by the body as the punctureheals.

A further embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Similarly to thepreviously illustrated embodiment, closure members 22, 23 have beenintroduced through the introducer tube 26, by in this case, a tampingtube 27, into a vessel 35.

This is achieved by the user inserting the insertion tool 20 into theintroducer 26 and advancing the proximal housing 32, and subsequentlyretracting the entire assembly, i.e. the insertion tool 20 and theintroducer 26, until the inner member 22 is against the vessel wall(FIG. 6). In this embodiment the continued retraction of the assemblywill trigger release of the compressed spring 28 automatically, asillustrated in FIG. 7. Initially, as seen in FIG. 6, the tamping springis held in a compressed, i.e. energized, state between the enlargedproximal end 39 of tamping tube 27 and an inner ledge 36 by a releasefastening 33. As the assembly is retracted, the release fastening 33will be forced to open by the interaction of a beveled surface 37,thereby pushing the tamping tube 27 forward with controlled force andspeed, which in turn will position the outer closure member 23 at thevessel puncture to effectively sandwich the puncture by the two closuremembers 22, 23 (FIG. 7). Simultaneously, the movement forward of tampingtube 27 will release a filament loop 24 from a retaining hook 29.Consequently, the continued retraction of the insertion assembly willtrigger tamping and release of the filament automatically. However, itis also within the scope of the present invention to provide automatictamping as described above, and thereafter provide user-operated releaseof the filament, as described in connection with FIG. 5, or vice versa,i.e. user-operated release of the tamping spring and automatic releaseof the filament.

It should be noted that it is also within the scope of the invention toenergize a tamping spring by extending the spring, and reversing thesetup in the insertion tool. One such embodiment is illustrated in FIG.8. The insertion tool 40 of this embodiment is similar to the firstembodiment described in connection to FIG. 1, except that a tampingspring 48 is mounted and fastened at its distal end to a distal end 58of proximal housing 52. Furthermore, the tamping spring 48 is mountedand fastened at its proximal end to an enlarged proximal end 59 oftamping tube 47. Prior to tamping, the tamping spring is held in anextended state, i.e. energized. Before the tamping step, the insertiontool 40 is maneuvered as described for previous embodiments, to placethe inner member 42 inside the vessel 55 adjacent to the vesselpuncture. On release of the tamping spring, by the user pressing ontamping button 53, the tamping tube 47 is advanced by the pulling forceof the spring, effectively tamping the two closure members 42, 43 at theopening.

Notably, the energizing of a tamping force source, as used in connectionwith the tamping procedure in the embodiments described above, and inconnection to using other tamping force sources, such as elastic bands68 in FIG. 9 or a pressurized gas container 78 in FIG. 10, can beperformed any time before initiation of the tamping procedure. Theenergizing operation is separated from the closure procedure itself, andin particular from the tamping procedure, which commences when the twoclosure members are to be moved towards each other to achieve closure ofthe opening. The energizing of a tamping force source can be performedduring manufacture of the device or by the user before initiation of theclosure procedure, or before initiation of the tamping procedure itself.The loading of the tamping spring can be performed by a manualoperation, e.g. pushing the tamping tube 7, 27, 47 proximally into theproximal housing 12, 32, 52, in order to snap the fastening mechanism13, 33, 53 into the initial position. Another variation is to provide aseparate plunger for loading of the spring. Similar mechanisms can beprovided when using elastic bands or a pressurized gas container.

The tamping spring 8, 28 can be produced from any known materialsuitable for use in springs, including, but not limited to metals, suchas steel or nitinol, and plastics. In particular, the spring, or othertamping force source, is designed to deliver a specific tamping forcefor tamping of the closure device. The required force is adapted todeliver a sufficient amount of force for tamping, while keepingpotentially rupturing forces to a minimum. Therefore, the tamping forceexerted by the tamping force source is preferably within the range of 5N and 40 N, more preferably between 8 N and 12 N. It should be notedthat the term tamping force is to be taken as the force exerted on theproximal closure member by the tamping tube at the final stages oftamping or sandwiching of the two closure members at the opening, and isopposed by the retaining member, .i.e. the filament in the embodimentsabove. If using e.g. a compressed spring, the initial force on releaseof the tamping mechanism will be higher than the final force, due to thenature of a spring, however, the final tamping force is preferablywithin the abovementioned range.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific embodiments it will be apparent for those skilled in the artthat many variations and modifications can be performed within the scopeof the invention as described in the specification and defined withreference to the claims below.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An insertion tool for a medical device forclosure of an opening in a wall of a bodily organ, the medical devicecomprising a first member and a second member connected by a filament,the insertion tool comprising: a first housing; a tamping tube having aproximal end that is located in the first housing, and a distal end thatis located outside the first housing, the tamping tube being configuredto allow the filament to be threaded therethrough; a tamping triggerthat is attached to the first housing, the tamping trigger beingconfigured to releasably hold the tamping tube, and being configured tobe actuated by a user; a spring located in the first housing; whereinthe insertion tool is configured such that, (i) prior to actuation ofthe tamping trigger by the user, the tamping tube is held by the tampingtrigger, and the spring is energized and applies an application force tothe tamping tube, and (ii) upon actuation of the tamping trigger by theuser, the tamping trigger releases the tamping tube and the springadvances the tamping tube in a distal direction relative to the firsthousing, such that the distal end of the tamping tube can bring togetherthe first and second members of the medical device.
 2. The insertiontool of claim 1, further comprising a second housing, wherein the distalend of the tamping tube is configured to be inserted into the secondhousing, and a distal end of the second housing is configured to abut anintroducer.
 3. The insertion tool of claim 1, further comprising: afilament release trigger that is attached to the first housing andconfigured to releasably hold the filament, wherein the insertion toolis further configured such that, upon actuation of the filament releasetrigger, the filament is released from the filament release trigger. 4.The insertion tool of claim 3, wherein the filament release triggercomprises a hook configured to releasably hold the filament.
 5. Theinsertion tool of claim 4, wherein the filament release triggercomprises a button that extends from an inside of the first housing toan outside of the first housing, and is configured to be pressed by theuser to actuate the filament release trigger.
 6. The insertion tool ofclaim 1, wherein the tamping trigger comprises a button that extendsfrom an inside of the first housing to an outside of the first housing,and is configured to be pressed by the user to actuate the tampingtrigger.
 7. The insertion tool of claim 1, wherein the proximal end ofthe tamping tube is enlarged, and the tamping trigger is configured toreleasably hold the enlarged proximal end of the tamping tube.
 8. Theinsertion tool of claim 7, further comprising a tamping trigger springconfigured to bias the tamping trigger to hold the enlarged proximal endof the tamping tube.
 9. The insertion tool of claim 7, wherein, thespring is located between (i) the enlarged proximal end of the tampingtube, and (ii) an inner proximal ledge of the first housing, and thespring is in a compressed state when energized.
 10. The insertion toolof claim 7, wherein the spring is located between and attached to (i)the enlarged proximal end of the tamping tube, and (ii) a distal wall ofthe first housing, and the spring is in an extended state whenenergized.
 11. A method for closing an opening in a wall of a bodilyorgan, the method comprising: providing a medical device comprising afirst member and a second member connected by a filament; providing aninsertion tool comprising: a first housing; a tamping tube having aproximal end that is located in the first housing, and a distal end thatis located outside the first housing, the filament being threadedthrough the tamping tube, a tamping trigger that is attached to thefirst housing, the tamping trigger being configured to releasably holdthe tamping tube, and being configured to be actuated by a user, aspring located in the first housing, wherein the tamping tube is held bythe tamping trigger, and the spring is energized and applies anapplication force to the tamping tube; and actuating the tampingtrigger, thereby releasing the tamping tube from the tamping triggersuch that the spring advances the tamping tube in a distal directionrelative to the first housing, and such that the distal end of thetamping tube brings together the first and second members of the medicaldevice on opposite sides of the wall of the bodily organ.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein the insertion tool further comprises a secondhousing, and wherein the method further comprises, before actuating thetamping trigger, inserting the distal end of the tamping tube into thesecond housing, and causing a distal end of the second housing to abutan introducer having a distal end located in the bodily organ.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the insertion tool further comprises afilament release trigger that is attached to the first housing andconfigured to releasably hold the filament, and wherein the methodfurther comprises, after actuating the tamping trigger, actuating thefilament release trigger such that the filament is released from thefilament release trigger.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thefilament release trigger comprises a hook configured to releasably holdthe filament.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the filament releasetrigger comprises a button that extends from an inside of the firsthousing to an outside of the first housing, and the filament releasetrigger is actuated by pressing the button of the filament releasetrigger.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the tamping triggercomprises a button that extends from an inside of the first housing toan outside of the first housing, and the tamping trigger is actuated bypressing the button of the tamping trigger.
 17. The method of claim 11,wherein the proximal end of the tamping tube is enlarged, and thetamping trigger is configured to releasably hold the enlarged proximalend of the tamping tube.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein theinsertion tool further comprises a tamping trigger spring configured tobias the tamping trigger to hold the enlarged proximal end of thetamping tube.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein, the spring is locatedbetween (i) the enlarged proximal end of the tamping tube, and (ii) aninner proximal ledge of the first housing, and the spring is in acompressed state when energized.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein thespring is located between and attached to (i) the enlarged proximal endof the tamping tube, and (ii) a distal wall of the first housing, andthe spring is in an extended state when energized.